By Dr. Taras Kuzio

Key Takeaways:

• EU and US policies in South Caucasus criticized: The EU is accused of micromanaging Armenia-Azerbaijan issues while the US focuses on trade; both fail to address Armenia’s constitutional territorial claims over Karabakh, which fueled past conflicts. 
• Armenia should follow Ireland’s example: A referendum to amend its constitution and drop claims to Karabakh (similar to Ireland’s Good Friday Agreement) is needed for lasting peace, despite opposition from pro-Russian forces and the Armenian Apostolic Church. 
• Risks of inaction: Leaving territorial claims in Armenia’s constitution risks empowering revanchism and Russian “divide and rule” tactics, perpetuating instability and economic stagnation in the region.

As Russia is fully preoccupied in fighting a losing war in Ukraine its power and influence in Eurasia more broadly and in the South Caucasus is in terminal decline which the European Union (EU) and the Donald Trump Administration are increasingly filling. While the US is focussed on economic growth and expanding trade, the EU is micromanaging questions that are best left to Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve.

One of these questions is central to peace in the region: the need to introduce mechanisms to prevent the re-emergence of Armenian revanchism and irredentism. After all, in the late 1980s and early 1990s nationalist claims to a greater Armenia led to the occupation of one fifth of Azerbaijan territory for nearly three decades which was not reversed by diplomatic negotiations through the amorphous OSCE Minsk Group, which was closed last year, but by two wars in 2020 and 2023.

Armenia’s claim to Karabakh rests on how its constitution incorporates the country’s 1990 Declaration of Independence that explicitly endorses the 1989 joint decision by Armenia’s Supreme Soviet and the Karabakh Armenian National Council to “reunify” Karabakh with Armenia. The constitution’s preamble references the Declaration of Independence as a foundational document which therefore indirectly embeds an Armenian claim to Karabakh.

In 1991, Karabakh held an illegal referendum on its status which it used to declare independence and “reunify” with Armenia. Azerbaijan, the Unted Nations (UN) and the international community rejected this step, citing territorial integrity and uti possidetis; that is, the recognition of Soviet-era republican boundaries as international borders. On 21 December 1991 Armenia signed the Alma Ata Declaration at the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) summit which recognised republican boundaries as international borders.

Four UN Security Council resolutions which affirmed Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh were each adopted unanimously in April (Resolution 822), July (Resolution 853), October (Resolution 874) and November (Resolution 884) 1993. Resolution 853 reaffirmed “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and of all other States in the region” and demanded “the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces” from Azerbaijani territories. Resolution 874 reaffirmed “the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory.” 

None of the four UN resolutions mention “Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence” or granted the region a separate status. Each resolution consistently framed Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory and condemned the occupation of other Azerbaijani lands.

The self-declared “Republic of Artsakh” (Armenian name for Karabakh) was formally dissolved by Azerbaijan in January 2024.

The EU demanded, at the insistence of Greece, that Macedonia change its name to North Macedonia. Why is the EU therefore insisting that Azerbaijan drop its demand for Armenia to remove its territorial claims to Karabakh from its constitution? 

EU and US weakness on Georgia, as seen after Russia’s 2008 invasion and recognition of the “independence” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, has led to Tbilisi’s de facto belief these territories have been lost because of Western duplicity. This has led to despondency in Georgia about support for Georgia’s Western orientation and a gradual drifting back to Russia’s sphere of influence.

The EU should encourage Armenia to look tothe example of Ireland. The three-decade long sectarian conflict (dubbed “The Troubles”) ended with the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement and Ireland holding a referendum change the constitution so that the Irish republic no longer laid territorial claim to Northern Ireland. The EU should assist Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to hold a similar referendum that would ask Armenians whether they supported changing their constitution as a step towards finalising a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. 

The victory of Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party in the June parliamentary elections did not give him a two thirds majority in parliament and therefore his political force cannot unilaterally change the constitution. Nevertheless, Pashinyan was given a popular mandate to push ahead with a referendum.

Undoubtedly, a referendum in Armenia would face greater resistance than it did in Ireland. Pro-Russian Armenian parties, oligarchs like Samvel Karapetyan who made billions in Russia, and hierarchs in the Armenian Apostolic national Church are hostile to this constitutional change because they oppose any peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is also happy for Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue their conflict as this would allow the Kremlin to implement its old strategy of “divide and rule.”

On 22 May 1998, voters in Ireland were asked whether they agreed to amend Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution. These two clauses had, since 1937, laid claim to the “national territory” of the whole island, thus including Northern Ireland. The referendum was held simultaneously with a parallel vote in Northern Ireland on the ratification of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement signed the previous month.

The referendum question asked Irish voters whether they agreed to drop the constitutional assertion of sovereignty over the whole island and replace it with a more conciliatory aspiration to a united Ireland to be achieved only “by peaceful means, with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island.” Unionists in Northern Ireland had long regarded the constitutional claim as provocative and giving ideological sustenance to nationalists and the IRA (Irish Republican Army).

The Irish referendum passed with a very large majority of 94.4 percent with only 5.6 percent opposed. In North Ireland, the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement was supported by 71 percent of voters.

High support for changing the Irish constitution cut across party lines and was supportive of peace and reconciliation taking precedence over what had been in effect a symbolic territorial claim; after all the Republic of Ireland had never intended to go to war with Britain over Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin and some Fianna Fáil “traditionalists” expressed reservations about the constitutional change; nevertheless, organised opposition was minimal and far less intense than in Irish referendums on abortion and same sex marriage.

The EU is mistaken in opposing the holding of a referendum on changing Armenia’s constitution. Leaving a territorial claim to Karabakh in Armenia’s constitution would embolden pro-Russian nationalist revanchism and irredentism and allow the Kremlin to continue its three decades long meddling in the South Caucasus which only brought bloodshed and economic stagnation. Only by removing the territorial claim will there emerge the chance of a sustained and durable peace in the South Caucasus.

For decades, successive Israeli governments refrained from officially recognizing the Armenian genocide, citing concerns over relations with both Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Israel has postponed a planned Knesset vote on formally recognizing the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide, according to an Israeli official.

The vote, which was expected to give final parliamentary approval to the measure after it was unanimously endorsed by the government last month, has been suspended amid heightened regional tensions.

According to the official, the legislation will not be brought forward before the end of the current parliamentary session.

The Knesset is scheduled to begin its summer recess at the end of the week and is not expected to reconvene before Israel’s legislative elections on October 27, 2026, effectively delaying a final decision for several months.

The postponement comes as relations between Israel and Turkey remain deeply strained over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s repeated criticism of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.

Diplomatic tensions have also intensified following renewed instability involving Iran and last week’s NATO summit in Turkey, where Ankara reportedly lobbied US President Trump to approve the sale of F-35 fighter jets.

For decades, successive Israeli governments refrained from officially recognizing the Armenian genocide, citing concerns over relations with both Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Although Prime Minister Netanyahu has previously referred to the events as genocide, the Knesset has never formally adopted such recognition.

The government’s unanimous approval of the proposal last month marked a significant policy shift, reflecting the continued deterioration in ties between Jerusalem and Ankara.

Turkey condemned the move as “politically motivated,” while Azerbaijan also criticized the decision and urged Israel to reverse its position.

VOSKETAP, July 15 — In Armenia’s Ararat valley, where apricots ripen beneath the biblical mountain of the same name, farmer Aramais Kazaryan’s harvest has been swept into the centre of a geopolitical battle between Russia and the West.

Angered at Yerevan’s pivot away from Moscow, the Kremlin imposed bans and restrictions on the imports of a wide range of Armenian goods, including fruits, vegetables and flowers, ahead of parliamentary elections earlier this month.

Russia said it was for unspecified sanitary concerns, but it is widely seen as an attempt to heap economic pressure on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to reverse course and turn back toward Moscow.

The 75-year-old farmer’s eyes filled with tears as he walked through his orchard in the village of Vosketap, where a breeze from snowcapped Mount Ararat, across the border in Turkey, dispelled the summer heat.

“The apricot is a symbol of Armenia,” he told AFP.

“Its taste and aroma are royal. The apricot is a wonder of wonders.”

Cultivated for millennia, Armenia’s famed apricots were known to ancient Romans as the “Armenian apple.”

Before the ban, the vast majority of exports went to Russia.

Cannot be forgiven

Kazaryan planted his orchard in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union when farmland was distributed to private owners.

Within five years, the trees were bearing fruit, and Russia became the natural destination for much of the harvest, trucked north across the border.

Russia has also restricted Armenian fish, famed Jermuk mineral water, wine and brandy.

The move has angered Kazaryan and many of his fellow farmers.

“For decades this trade went on. And suddenly everything changed?” he said.

“This cannot be forgiven in any way.”

Moscow was punishing ordinary workers over the government’s European course, despite Russia’s claims of historic friendship, he said.

“This is aimed not against Pashinyan or the leadership, it is going against our people.”

Pashinyan’s party won the June 7 vote—despite intense pressure and allegations of interference from Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far withheld formal congratulations and Moscow has talked up alleged violations in the vote.

Trade war 

Ex-Soviet Armenia has strong formal ties to Moscow—a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union that hosts a Russian military base.

But Pashinyan has sought to reduce Yerevan’s dependence on Moscow after Russia failed to intervene during military conflicts with Azerbaijan over the then-disputed Karabakh region.

Armenia has frozen participation in a Moscow-led security bloc, deepened ties with the European Union and the United States, and set the country on a path toward possible EU membership.

The Armenian government has scrambled to soften the blow of the trade war unleashed by Moscow.

In early June, it approved support for farmers, including subsidies for greenhouse exports.

It is also compensating customs duties on fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers exported to the EU.

The European Commission has pledged more than 50 million euros in immediate assistance, along with measures granting nearly 80 percent of Armenian exports tariff-free access to the EU’s 450-million-consumer single market.

Focus on quality

Armenia’s economy could contract by up to two percent if exporters fail to find new markets, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan has warned.

Economic analyst Ashot Aramyan said government measures and EU help would only ease the shock temporarily.

Armenia exported nearly $200 million worth of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers in 2025, with 93.3 percent going to Russia, he said.

“It will not be possible to redirect the entire harvest to European and other markets,” Aramyan told AFP, warning of overproduction, bankruptcies and possible social strain.

Officials are putting on a brave face.

“The times have passed when we used to say that Armenian products were uncompetitive in Europe,” Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan told lawmakers.

Apricot farmer Kazaryan sees reason for optimism.

Italian investors have planted large orchards in a nearby village and have started to export back home.

But many farmers worry “what to do with fruit that may have nowhere to go.”

Under good weather conditions, he said, a single apricot tree can yield up to 500 kilograms.

“For a long time we were chasing only volumes, quantity—after all, Russia was an inexhaustible market for us.”

Armenian farmers, he said, should focus more on quality than yield to carve out a place in alternative markets.

“Now the main thing is quality.” —  AFP

Exotic sports cars, art, and storytelling will race for your attention Thursday evening at the Armenian Museum of Fresno.

The nonprofit museum is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a free reception focusing on the work of Vasken Bedirian, an artist, former vintage race car driver, and author of “The Giulietta and the Romeos.”

His exhibit features images inspired by classic and exotic cars and the people and culture they inspire. The exhibition continues through July 31.

Born in Beirut and raised in Los Angeles, Bedirian worked after school at his father’s gas station, where he learned mechanics and restoration. As a teenager, he cruised Hollywood’s streets in his hopped-up 1970 Trans Am, exploring Sunset Boulevard, and the tight curves of Mulholland Drive. He says that these sparked a passion for racing and for art.

Bedirian later raced in regional and national vintage championships, while painting, collecting, and restoring classics, mostly European sports cars. After retiring, he settled in Pebble Beach, where he remains deeply involved in the automotive community, joining rallies along California’s coastal roads and mountain passes.

Vasken Bedirian will sign copies of his novel at the Thursday evening reception. (Contributed)

About the Armenian Museum of Fresno

Founded in 2001, the Armenian Museum of Fresno is dedicated to preserving and promoting Armenian culture, heritage, and history through exhibits, events, research, and educational programs.

The museum is at the University of California Center, 550 E. Shaw Ave., across from Fashion Fair. It is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.

https://gvwire.com/2026/07/14/exotic-classic-cars-art-featured-at-fresno-armenian-museum-reception/